The Mayfly of Space
by Seraphilim
Summary: Cima Garahau, along with the few survivors of her fleet, have been taken in by the Federation's new Zeon-hunters, the Titans. Now, in 0084, the atrocities begin... (Updated and cleaned up)
1. Chapter 1

The Mayfly of Space  
  
By Seraphilim  
  
Copyright Note: I don't own Gundam, or anything related to it, except for the characters, objects, situations, and ideas of mine creation in this work of fiction.  
  
Revision Notes: I've noticed one major problem in this fiction. The odd rank system. I've discovered that that part was utterly pointless. All five current chapters will be revised to change all ranking to standard US rank systems, utilizing Army/Air force/Marine for where those apply, and Navy for EFF space and naval divisions.  
  
There will be a few other changes. Alexander's name will be simply Alexander Krauser, without the middle name. The cryptic "Icelia" will change slightly.  
  
I hope all you readers can bear with me as I continue to make this fiction into the best possible I can manage.  
  
Chapter 1 - Second Chance  
  
  
  
U.C. 0083  
  
Operation Stardust  
  
Earth Orbit  
  
Life is like a house of cards. With each action, thought, and experience, life builds upon itself. But, always remember that, like the house of cards, life can just as easily come crashing down around you.  
  
That was one of many thoughts running through Lt. Colonel Cima Garahau's mind as she witnessed the destruction of her flagship, the Lili Marlene, right before her eyes. Her home for the last four years was gone, just like that. All of her men aboard the ship, including the ones now dying around her, were meeting the same fate as their home colony of Mahal. She'd lost everything. She glared down at the exploding hulk of metal.  
  
"Dammit, I warned you...!"  
  
While her words carried her usual attitude of command and authority over her men, the tone of her voice was deadened. She continued gazing down at the blossoming explosion, and her hard gaze loosened, as her eyes glossed over slightly.  
  
"I suppose... this is it."  
  
Shaking her head slowly, Cima sighed, wearily. "I thought I'd lost everything four years ago. But, I took what I still had for granted, and now I truly have nothing. So, I'll fight. I'll fight a real battle this time, no holding back. This is what you wanted, right? Is this what you wanted!?"  
  
She screamed in rage. If she was going down, Cima Garahau would take as many others with her as she could on her trip to Hell. She gripped the control sticks tightly, and began to search with her eyes for that white mobile armor through tears that dared to flow.  
  
"Miss Cima!"  
  
With a skip in her heartbeat, Cima snapped her view forward, her expression of disbelief obvious. A Gelgoog Marine Commander floated in space before her. Behind it, three standard Gelgoog-Ms were engaged with several Rick Dom IIs. She noticed the gray-on-dark red color scheme of these Gelgoogs, and a smile, not a smirk or sneer, but a genuine smile, grew on her face. Perhaps she still had some cards left to build with.  
  
"Major Alex..."  
  
"Alive and well, Ma'am. The Vagabonds are ready at your command."  
  
The Vagabonds. They were of the elite of the Cima Fleet. Unlike most fleet commanders, Cima refused to keep her best pilots on her own ship (that's what she was for), but rather on her forward strike ship, the Musai "Fenrir Rose," where their piloting skills could most easily be utilized. Despite usually being in the thick of battle, the Fenrir Rose always came out unscathed thanks to the Vagabonds.  
  
A gleam formed in Cima's eyes.  
  
"Alex! The Rose! Is it...?"  
  
Alexander Krauser's face on the monitor gave a little grin, the small scar on his chin stretching a bit with his mouth.  
  
"Still in one piece! Captain Tirgell has it idling in a debris field two kilometers from here."  
  
As the other Vagabonds eliminated the last of the Doms, one of Alex's men cut in on the communication.  
  
"Sir, the Delaz Fleet is advancing towards the Federation ships. That puts them between us and the Fenrir Rose."  
  
"Damn. Rick, you and the others keep watch. I've gotta figure out a plan."  
  
"No problem."  
  
Cima could see several green Musais and a Pazoc floating in the distance, the remnants of the Delaz Fleet.  
  
"Alex, are any of my other ships still alive?"  
  
"Not sure, Miss Cima. We got contacted by the Wild Osprey a few minutes ago, but the comm channels have been quiet since then."  
  
Her eyes still on Delaz's followers, Cima spotted the white bastard who'd destroyed her Lili Marlene. The giant white mobile armor was tearing through the Zeon forces, demolishing anything and everything in its path.  
  
"All right, let's pull out! Get back to the Rose! You lag behind, then you're on your own. You die, then go to Hell!"  
  
This earned Cima a chorus of acknowledgments. She allowed a predatory smile to creep onto her face.  
  
"And if you find anything Zeon in your way, feel free to destroy it. Let's move!"  
  
"Yes, Ma'am!"  
  
The group of five mobile suits ignited their thrusters, and blasted off towards the Rose. Alex opened a comm with his squad.  
  
"Okay, let's give Miss Cima a clear path! Time to 'part the sea!'"  
  
"Got it!"  
  
The four Gelgoog Marines blazed forth, raining deadly fire upon anyone foolish enough to stray into their path. Cima's red Gerbera Tetra brought up the rear, finishing off any "leftovers."  
  
But, as fate would have it, Cima Garahau and 1st Lieutenant Kou Uraki would cross paths yet again. The Dendrobium lay before the small group, just finishing off two of Delaz's Rick Dom IIs with a shot from its mega beam cannon. Cima, realizing somehow that this was the same pilot she had fought before, charged forth in her Gerbera Tetra, anger clouding her judgment. She ignored Alex's warnings to stay away from the mobile armor, and fired her beam machinegun at the giant.  
  
"You again, you white bastard! Whose side are you on anyways!?"  
  
She grinned viciously as the beam machinegun tore chunks out of the Gundam mobile armor. She gave a crazed laugh, but then she gasped in shock as the massive Dendrobium made a wrenching turn and impaled the Gerbera on the tip of the mega beam cannon.  
  
With a powerful jerk, Cima flew forward in her restraints; she could feel something give in her left shoulder. Her helmet's faceplate spidered, and she cried out in pain, and at what she knew was to come.  
  
But, the universe wasn't yet ready to let Cima Garahau die.  
  
"Cima!!!"  
  
Activating full thrust, Alex blasted forward at the two combaters, and managed to slam his knuckle shield into the GP03's cannon right before it fired. With baited breath, Alex saw the red-white stream of Minovsky Particles tear through the lower half of the Gerbera, sending the upper half careening off into open space.  
  
"Miss Cima! Come in! Do you read me!? CIMA!"  
  
As the Dendrobium, its pilot's attention elsewhere, flew away, Alex rushed towards the remains of the Gerbera Tetra, with the other Vagabonds close behind.  
  
"Cima! Please, answer me!"  
  
"..."  
  
The comm line was still open! With desperate hope, Alex stopped his Marine Commander next to the wreckage and opened his cockpit hatch. He climbed out, and pushed off towards the Gerbera's cockpit. He grabbed the manual hatch release, and pulled as hard as he possibly could. With a slow, deliberate scrape of metal against metal, the locks popped out and the hatch opened.  
  
Inside, he saw that everything electronic in the Gerbera's cockpit was literally blown apart, probably from the immense power surge from the mega beam cannon. Amidst all of the shorted wires and broken panels, the lone occupant was slumped in the pilot seat, her face invisible in the darkness.  
  
"Cima...!"  
  
Alex almost ripped out the restraints as he pulled his commander from the cockpit. He noted that her shoulder was dislocated, and tried to not upset it. Checking her over as well as he could, he breathed a massive sigh of relief when he noticed her chest still rising and lowering, albeit slowly.  
  
"Thank God. Guys, she's alive! She's hurt though, so let's get back to the Rose, ASAP!"  
  
"Yes sir!"  
  
Pushing off the now derelict Gerbera Tetra, Alex floated back to his mobile suit. Her looked down at his commander's now serene, yet somewhat tragic, face. Even after all the hell she'd been through, she still retained a great deal of the beauty nature graced her with. He smiled as he entered the Gelgoog's cockpit.  
  
"Cima. You'll be safe very soon."  
  
Closing the hatch, Alex held Cima in his arms as he managed to get the restraints on both of them. It was going to be a little tough to fly like this, but he had been in worse situations. He ignited the thrusters, and flew with the other Vagabonds back to their ship.  
  
End Chapter 1 


	2. Chapter 2

The Mayfly of Space  
  
By Seraphilim  
  
Chapter 2 - Integration  
  
U.C. 0083  
  
Aftermath of Operation Stardust  
  
Luna II  
  
She could see them again. Those dark, hollow faces, devoid of emotion, just staring at her with blank gazes. The stares weren't accusatory or pitying, nor were they saddened or angered. They just... stared. Maybe they were judging her. Judging her for what she did four years ago...  
  
Cima woke in a cold sweat. It was dark, and she was lying in a bed. This didn't feel like her bed in the Lili Marlene; this was stiff and cold, like a military bunk.  
  
"Oh hell..."  
  
She remembered. The colony drop. The battle with Delaz Fleet and the Albion. Losing the Lili Marlene. Losing her life. 'But that can't be. I'm still alive, I think. How did I survive?'  
  
The door opened, and bright white light shone through the new opening. Cima had to squint until she could accustom herself to the light. A silhouette of a person entered, and took a seat next to the bed. A hospital bed, she realized.  
  
"You're awake, huh? How do you feel, Miss Cima?"  
  
"I feel like shit, Alex. Why am I alive?"  
  
"Well, that's my fault, I suppose. I smashed that cannon before it fired, and it missed your cockpit."  
  
Cima stared up at the ceiling. Nobody had ever saved her life before. Hell, most people were trying to take it from her. She looked back at Alex, her eyes finally adjusted to the light.  
  
"What happened after I was out?"  
  
He took a long breath before speaking.  
  
"Well, first off, me and the Vagabonds hauled you out of there to the Rose as fast as we could. No one spotted us, fortunately. That mobile armor who got you ended up fighting Gato. Those two were right in front of the Solar System when it fired at the colony. The white one was destroyed, though the Gundam inside survived, and Gato escaped. He tried to get the remnants of Delaz's forces to follow him through the Fed fleet to get to those Axis guys. He's dead now; rammed into one of the Salamis cruisers. I think only a few of Delaz's men made it through. As for us, we're the only ship left of your fleet. We managed to pick up some survivors from the Wild Osprey and a 2nd Lt. Maxwell Enders and his HM Zaku; he was still fighting when his ship, the Kraken, blew up. We contacted the Feddie fleet after the colony fell; yeah, Bosque Ohm couldn't stop it with the Solar System. Anyways, we contacted them, told 'em we were the Cima Fleet, but the bastards almost shot us down before we could get them to believe us. They sent us here to Luna II, and we got you laided up here in their hospice. Some Feddie commander wanted to speak to you once you got yourself back on your feet. And that's all you missed."  
  
Cima was quietly digesting this information. 'Okay, Delaz's men are pretty much all gone. That's good. Mr. Nightmare of Solomon is dead, that's even better. My fleet is down to one Musai. That's NOT good. But, it seems like the Feddies are willing to take us in. That's definitely good.'  
  
"So, who's this Mr. Big who wants to talk to me?"  
  
"Some Major, uh, name's Jeffrey Carroway. I think he works for Jamitov, at least that's what I can get from him."  
  
Cima sat up, slowly. She didn't really feel as bad as she first thought. Her shoulder felt pretty sore, she'd probably dislocated it and they had had to put it back in. Besides that, she felt fine.  
  
"I'll go see him now."  
  
Alex stood up, and began to leave.  
  
"Right. I'll go tell him you're coming."  
  
He left, and Cima was alone again. She swung her long legs over the side of the bed, and stood up gracefully.  
  
"Oh, yuck."  
  
She was wearing of those damn hospital gowns. Cursing under her breath, Cima looked around for any of her clothes. To her surprise, she found a small case with a white and black tiger-stripe pattern next to her bed.  
  
"Alex, you sneaky bastard..."  
  
This was her 'emergency' case, just for situations like this. She always kept it stored on her mobile suit or her ship(her mobile suit, in this case), which ever one was more likely to be needed. And if she knew herself...  
  
She dropped the case on the bed, and typed in her lock code. The case popped open, and she rummaged through the stuff inside to the bottom, rather, the fake bottom. She grasped the edge, and pulled out the false bottom. To her delight, she found her back-up monetary 'gains', set aside for anything that could happen.  
  
"Heh, Cima Garahau isn't fucked yet."  
  
She replaced the fake backside, and pulled out her uniform and undergarments. Shrugging off the damned hospital gown, she dressed in the simple black underwear. She didn't care much for it to be fancy rather than comfortable. Reaching over, she snagged her uniform. Tossing the beige cloak back onto the bed, Cima quickly donned the snug, red uniform she always wore on the bridge of the Lili Marlene.  
  
"Dammit, I miss my ship. I wonder if the Feddies have any spare Zanzibars?"  
  
Leaving the cloak, Cima reached back into the case for one more thing. Her Asian-style fan. She loved that little trinket. It cost her a bit, since it was imported from Earth, but when she had it, she felt regal and confident. Almost like a queen.  
  
"Well, I damn well made everyone treat me as such. What a waste... all that effort, and those idiots go off and die."  
  
'For you, stupid. They died because they valued your life over their own. You didn't even treat them like soldiers, you used them like servants and serfs.' Dammit, those voices were talking to her again.  
  
"Shut up. You don't know what it felt like."  
  
'It felt damn good, and you know it. You cared only about yourself, the queen bitch of a group of thugs and half-wits.'  
  
"Shut the fuck up! You don't know me! I deserved that! I deserved better than what those bastard Zeons gave me!"  
  
That seemed to make the voices stop. Cima huffed in annoyance, and strode from the room, leaving her cloak behind.  
  
It wasn't long before she arrived at the office of Jeffrey Carroway. Without even bothering to knock, she waltzed in and dropped herself in the most comfortable-looking chair available; immediately she began to slouch in the chair. The office's sole occupant, a tall, thin man with a neatly trimmed bush of brown hair on his head, stared at her, speechless. Cima mentally sighed. Typical Feddie.  
  
"Major Carroway, I presume?"  
  
Carroway quickly composed himself.  
  
"Ah, yes, that's correct, Lt. Colonel... Cima Garahau, I believe?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Carroway waited, obviously expecting her to say more. When she didn't, instead boring a hole through his forehead with her leveled gaze, the Federation Major continued.  
  
"Well, okay, here's what I need to discuss with you, Lt. Colonel. Brigadier General Hyman has told me that you and your men are to be integrated into the new Titans military division. You may keep all of your mobile suits and your ship, and you'll also be receiving new ships and mobile suits, along with the men to use them. You're going to be one of our 'secret police', for lack of better term. Essentially, you'll be going throughout the entire Earth Sphere, dealing with any dissidents, riots, rebellious colonists, etc, etc."   
  
Carroway folded both of his hands in front of him on the desk, his composure completely regained.  
  
"I recommend that you junk that Musai, Lt. Colonel. You'll be moving back and forth from the Earth and space, and Musais can't operate on Earth. Either that, or leave it with us, we could always use another ship. Speaking of which, we have one of our new Pegasus-II carriers on standby to take you and your crew to Earth, where you'll be taken to our Belfast Base in Europe. You'll receive your new ship and orders there. That's all I have for you, Colonel."  
  
They both stood, and Carroway offered his hand. Cima stared at it, as if she didn't know what to do with it, then took it in hers and shook once before turning on one heel and leaving the office. Carroway stared after her and muttered.  
  
"Damn, what a bitch."  
  
End Chapter 2 


	3. Chapter 3

The Mayfly of Space(Revised)  
  
By Seraphilim  
  
Copyright Note: I don't own Gundam yadda yadda... OK, on with the story!  
  
Other Notes: For those who are wondering, the Marinae Knights is a play off of the Japanese pronunciation of Marine. It's pronounced Mah Ree Neh in Japanese.  
  
Also, the character "Acelia" that Alex mentions is a character taken from The Epic Story of Soldiers, and will be one of several things that will tie the two stories together.  
  
Chapter 3 - Memories of Stardust  
  
U.C. 0084  
  
Luna II  
  
Upon leaving Carroway's office, Cima realized that she had no clue as to where Alex and the other survivors of her fleet were.  
  
"...Damn."  
  
She began to move aimlessly down the corridor, hoping to find someone she could shake the information out of. As luck would have it, around the corner she found a lowly ensign who almost walked into her. She ignored it, and placed her hands on her hips.  
  
"Hey, you."  
  
The ensign looked over at her when he regained his balance.  
  
"Ye... yes, si... hey! You're one of those Zeon deserters."  
  
Cima raised an eyebrow. "What's it to you, kid?"  
  
"If you're looking for the others, a bunch of 'em are down the hall in the lounge."  
  
Nodding, Cima brushed past him and headed for the lounge. The ensign just stared wide-eyed as she left.  
  
When she reached the lounge, Cima was happy to find Zennon Tirgell, the captain of the Fenrir Rose, sitting at a table along with a few others of her marines. Upon noticing her enter the room, Zennon stood and saluted, as did the rest of her marines. She waved them down, and took a pro-offered seat across from Zennon.  
  
"It's good to see you well, Miss Cima."  
  
A chorus of acknowledgements and agreements rose from the others. Cima contained a smile that was creeping up on her.  
  
"It's good to be alive, Captain. How are my men?"  
  
"As far as I know, everyone who survived is doing well. The only one who was wounded was yourself, Lt. Colonel."  
  
"I see. The Feddies are assigning me a post in their "Black Ops" regiment. I'm due to head to Earth pretty soon."  
  
Zennon seemed about to say something, but he stopped and looked away, troubled. Cima got pretty damn curious.  
  
"You have a problem, Captain."  
  
It was not a question. Zennon faced his superior, slightly un-eased by her piercing gaze.  
  
"It's about that, actually. We... we don't want to go to Earth. At least, not now. Space has been our home, our lives, for, well, our entire lives. Me, the men, we want to stay where we feel that we belong. And we belong in space."  
  
He bit his lip, waiting for a sharp response. It never came. Instead, he heard Cima sigh audibly.  
  
"I suppose I should have seen this coming..."  
  
"Ma'am?" Zennon was a bit confused.  
  
"It's alright, Captain. If the men wish to stay up here, then I won't force them to come with me. Besides, it'd be nice to have an ace in my hand up here."  
  
Zennon allowed a grin to spread across his face.  
  
"Gotcha, Cima. Remember, our first loyalty is to you and the Marines."  
  
Cima's gaze softened for a brief second, then she looked away.  
  
"Captain, where is Alex?"  
  
Zennon blinked at the sudden topic change.  
  
"Alex? He's busy talking with some Feddies in transferring the Vagabonds to your command. He says that they're going with you to Earth."  
  
Cima looked back at Zennon, surprised.  
  
"What?"  
  
Zennon smirked.  
  
"Alex says that he feels that it's his obligation to serve directly under you. He even went so far as to refer to himself as your Johnny Ridden."  
  
Tapping her palm with her fan, Cima smiled.  
  
Captain Alexhander Krauser exited the room where he had just finished talking with the captain of the Altair, the experimental Pegasus-II carrier that was taking Cima, and now his Vagabonds, to Earth. It hadn't taken much to get Captain Luphas to agree. Luphas even said he'd have the dockworkers load their four Gelgoog-Ms aboard, along with Enders' High Mobility Zaku. Enders had offered to go along, since he no longer had anywhere else to go with the destruction of the Kraken. Alex had accepted, and christened Enders as the newest addition to the Vagabonds. Alex tapped his chin thoughtfully with one finger.  
  
"Vagabonds... I'll have to change that, actually. We're no longer wanderers..."  
  
He stopped and leaned against the bulkhead, thinking.  
  
'Hmmm, well, now we're going to be Miss Cima's personal troops. What was that term? Ah, knights. That's it. We're Cima's knights. Or rather, the Marinae Knights. That sounds good.'  
  
He closed his eyes as his thoughts turned to the events that brought him to this point in time. He crossed his arms and chuckled, amused at the memory.  
  
"I never thought I'd be in a Fed base, on friendly terms no less, back when I signed up at the recruiting center on Mahal..."  
  
He remember the fate of his home colony.  
  
'Damn that bastard Gihren, and damn that asshole Asakura. Turning MY colony into Solar Ray. It was true justice to hear that Admiral Kycilia had executed that homicidal monster. Then, she had also died. We lost too many at A Baoa Qu. Even Johnny...'  
  
Alex winced at the memory of hearing that his friend from the Chimera Corps, Lt. Commander Johnny "Crimson Lightning" Ridden, was listed as MIA at A Baoa Qu. Johnny had been the best of the best, along with One-Shot-Kill Brenev Auggs and the White Wolf, Shin Matsunaga. The fact that all three were gone proved that A Baoa Qu, no, the entire OYW had truly been hell for Zeon.  
  
'A hell that we managed to live through.' thought Alex. 'Zennon's group was still fighting when Delaz pulled out. We still fought for those who were using us. Then, we finally escaped, and headed for sanctuary at Axis with the rest of Cima's fleet. Then those bastards at Axis...'  
  
Alex clenched his hands into fists.  
  
'Cima didn't know it was G3! Asakura pulled a fast one on us, using us as his scapegoats. He told us it was pure compressed oxygen, to knock out the inhabitants of Island Iffish so we could evacuate them...'  
  
Alex felt a tear well up in his eye as he relaxed his hands.  
  
'I still remember that hell... I remember those children... I can still see them as they died, crying for their parents. I remember Cima screaming... She couldn't take it back then when she realized what we had just done... Rick and I had to drag her out of there.'  
  
Alex opened his eyes, wiping the single tear from his face. He looked around, and found the corridor empty. Good. It wouldn't do to have some Feddie see the Zeon Marines' squad leader crying, even if it was only a single tear. He turned and started walking down the corridor towards the lounge. Alex balled his hands into fists as he recalled one last memory.  
  
'Acelia...'  
  
End Chapter Three 


	4. Chapter 4

The Mayfly of Space  
  
By Seraphilim  
  
Copyright Note: I don't own Gundam yadda yadda... OK, on with the story!  
  
Chapter 4 - To the Star of Blue Water  
  
U.C. 0083  
  
Rise of Titans  
  
Luna Two  
  
A favorable sight greeted Alex as he entered the lounge. Cima, Zennon, and several of his fellow marines all sat at a table near the door, seemingly having a good time. As he neared, Alex noted what exactly they were doing.  
  
Getting drunk.  
  
"Hey Alex! Good of ya to join us!"  
  
Alex rubbed a hand over his temples. That voice belonged to Rick, a fellow squad-mate who was a little too attached to his drink. The man was leaning back in his seat, raising his glass of lager in a mock salute to his commanding officer.  
  
Looking around the table, Alex noted that the only available seat was to the right of Cima, on the edge seat. She glanced up at him as he sat down, then turned back to the drink in front of her as he accepted a pro-offered drink from one of the other marines.  
  
As he took a sip of the liquor, Alex eyed Cima from the corner of his vision.  
  
She was staring down at a near-empty glass; the pink flush in her cheeks a testament to the fact that it wasn't her first drink. She wore a mellow expression on her face, which Alex realized was pretty rare to see on her.  
  
"Was he right...? Am I really just a mayfly...?"  
  
'May... fly?' thought Alex as he blinked in surprise at the near mumbling coming from Cima. 'Mayfly? Where did that come from? Who's "he?"'  
  
Alex put down his glass as he asked in Japanese, "Are you alright? Miss Cima."  
  
She looked up at him with an expression he'd never seen before on her face. Exactly three seconds passed before he realized what it was. Sorrow.  
  
"Alex... What am I? Bad? Evil? Am I an evil person?"  
  
Alex replied carefully, confused as to why she was asking him this.  
  
"No, you're not. You're a good person. You're not bad or evil."  
  
He noticed that the light seemed to reflect in her eyes much more now, as if she was... crying?  
  
'The alcohol must be affecting her more than I thought... How much did she drink?' he wondered curiously.  
  
She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, before she opened them to look at him.  
  
"No, you're wrong... That time... The Mist Operation..." She looked back down; as if she was afraid to say anymore for fear of letting the tears flow freely.  
  
Alex narrowed his eyes. The Mist Operation. That was the Zeon codename for the G3 gassing incident from the OYW. 'So that's what this is all about.' He thought as he reached and grasped her shoulders, turning her back towards him so he could look directly into her forest-green eyes.  
  
"Cima, stop this! It was not your fault!"  
  
He noted as he spoke that the exuberant activities of the other marines seemed to have ceased.  
  
"You must stop blaming yourself! You didn't know, I didn't know, none of us knew the truth!"  
  
"But..."  
  
"Cima." The way he said her name, using no honorific like he always did usually, and with a powerful feel behind, made Cima trail off with her protest.  
  
"Would you have pulled the trigger if you knew we were carrying G3?"  
  
"N...no."  
  
Alex looked over at Rick, Zennon, and all of the other marines seated at the table.  
  
"Rick, would you have pulled the trigger?"  
  
Despite his drunken state, Rick understood full well the seriousness of the situation.  
  
"No Sir."  
  
"Captain, would you?"  
  
Zennon shook his head.  
  
"Never."  
  
"Anyone?"  
  
The other marines, as Alex looked to each one, shook their heads. Alex turned back to Cima, and saw in her eyes and face that she was still fighting the truth. Alex pulled her towards him, bringing his face so close to hers that he could taste her soft breath. It smelled more of sweet wine than the hard liquor they had been drinking.  
  
"Cima. You are not a bad person."  
  
With that said, Alex leaned in and locked his lips with hers. Cima's eyes widened in surprise, but she closed her eyes and returned the kiss.  
  
As their lip-lock went on longer, Alex expected the other marines to cheer, make catcalls, or do something celebratory, but it was completely silent. The usually raucous marines gave a silent cheer as they observed the interplay between Alex and Cima. Zennon grinned. 'Took them three years, but it finally happened.'  
  
Finally, Alex broke the kiss with the older woman, and silently he almost regretted that he did. Cima opened her eyes and smiled, even though her eyes were still red.  
  
"Thank you, Alex..."  
  
"Just remember what I said."  
  
Cima nodded. Alex returned the smile as was about to speak again when he heard someone snicker.  
  
With an exaggerated slow turn, he looked over the marines. It wasn't them, he could tell by their expressions. Looking behind him, he saw the source. A couple of black and red uniformed Federation soldiers. Titans. The leader, if the guy standing at the front of the group could be called that, was some fresh-cut kid probably straight out of the academy, was sneering and clapping slowly.  
  
"Well, well, well. Who'd have thought spacenoid dogs could show such a touching display?"  
  
He spat on the floor, as his sneer turned into a snarl.  
  
"Why don't you take your slut and those pathetic boy scouts of yours and get the **** out of here, SPACENOID?"  
  
Alex heard Cima slap her fan into her palm, hard, as he rose from his seat. Two marines joined and flanked him as he approached the Titans group.  
  
"What's your name, kid?"  
  
The young Titan glared daggers into Alex's skull, even though Alex hadn't said or done anything to antagonize him.  
  
"1st Lt. Luke Sommers. What the **** is it to you, Zeek?"  
  
Alex stopped three feet from the Titan. He gave a dark smile.  
  
"Captain Alexander Gantz Krauser. Allow me to give you my personal greetings."  
  
He extended a hand towards Luke, obviously for a handshake. Luke stared at it with a disgusted expression, like it was some hideous bug that needed to be squashed.  
  
Then, his eyes widened in shock as the hand became a fist, and the fist soared up to connect with his chin. The blow knocked the boy up into the air and down amongst his comrades. One guy checked on the now unconscious Luke, while two of the others looked ready to tromp on Alex. The last Titans, a dark-haired, large man and a woman with long blonde hair tied in a braid, held those two back. When they had settled down a bit, the man came forward.  
  
"Nice punch, Spacenoid. You'll have to excuse Luke; he's an idiot and a hothead who likes taking on things that can kick his ass. 1st Lt. Ryan Hughes."  
  
The big guy offered his hand to Alex. Slowly, Alex took it in his and they shook hands. Ryan grinned.  
  
"So, you guys are Zeon Marines, huh? I remember fighting some of your Gelgoog-Ms at A Baoa Qu when I was flying one of the new model GM Commands. Didn't get any of you though. I think it was an ace team, since they had Googs painted in gold and green instead of that usual green and gray. I nearly got killed by their leader!"  
  
Alex widened his eyes at this, as Ryan chuckled at the memory. That had been his very own team.  
  
"Well, you fought against me then, Lt."  
  
Ryan almost dropped his mouth open in surprise. He gave a hearty laugh.  
  
"Well, I'll be damned! So we all made it out of that hellhole! No hard feelings, eh, Captain?"  
  
Alex gave a smile. He looked over his shoulder to see that the other marines had resumed their conversations and other activities.  
  
"Not at all. Were you the guy that pulled that crazy zigzag-shooting stunt? That took me off a bit. Had to use my shield."  
  
"Yep, that was Yours Truly. Figured that floating in one place while firing was an idiot's way to die. True, it wasn't really easy to hit a target when you're moving like I was, but it sure made it hard for them to hit me!"  
  
Alex liked this guy. Not at all like that other Titan, Luke. Curious, he looked over at the rest of the Titans, and saw two of them propping Luke up, with his arms over their shoulders, and taking him from the lounge.  
  
"Jeez, hope I didn't hit him too hard."  
  
Ryan looked over as the two Titans left the room with Luke.  
  
"Nah, I've hit him harder. Sure, we're the same rank, but I'm a guy who's been in the OYW. He's just a rookie out of the academy. I don't know how he got it in his head that all Spacenoids are complete dirt though. Only guys like Delaz or the Zabis need to be stopped. Hell, a good buddy of mine from the war was a Spacenoid."  
  
He extended his hand for another handshake.  
  
"Anyways, I've got stuff to do. I'll see you again, Captain?"  
  
Alex shook Ryan's hand.  
  
"Just call me Alex."  
  
"Sure, Alex. Oh, good luck with the lady. Once you get someone, you want to make sure never to lose them."  
  
With that, Ryan and the Titans woman left the lounge. Alex waited until they left before turning around and heading back to the table. Ryan's words left something in him. Yet, Alex couldn't place whether it was bad or good...  
  
Four hours later, the Pegasus-II Altair, with Alex, Cima, and the Knights aboard, left Luna II. Destination: Earth.  
  
End Chapter Four 


	5. Chapter 5

The Mayfly of Space  
  
By Seraphilim  
  
Copyright Note: I don't own Gundam, or anything associated with it. Well, except for stuff I made up, obviously.  
  
Chapter 5 – Rebirth of the Lili Marlene  
  
It was midnight when the Altair landed in Belfast. After setting down in one of the boxed hangar bays, dock crews began to unload the Knights' mobile suits. Cima and Alex, along with the four other former Zeon Marines, disembarked from the Altair. An attractive young woman (More a girl, actually, thought Cima.) with short-cropped black hair and wearing a Federation uniform greeted them.  
  
"Lt. Colonel Cima Garahau? I'm 1st Lt. Claire Heathrow. I'll be your liaison while you're here on the base. Follow me, please!"  
  
Cima nodded in reply. 'Still just a kid, like half the rest of the Federation...' she mused. It was a few minutes of waiting at the security checkpoint at the gate as Claire offered identification to the posted guard. They were quickly allowed through the hangar gate. Claire led the group to the base command facility. Once inside the large, square building, they moved into a meeting room of sorts, where two older men in Federation officer uniforms waited. One man, big and imposing, with a thick, wild gray beard and small brown eyes, introduced himself as Major General Edison Hughes. The second man, who wore a black and red Titans uniform and had thinning hair and beady little eyes, was silent. Hughes offered a seat to Cima across from him. She sat down silently and waited.  
  
"Greetings to you soldiers. Lt. Colonel Cima Garahau, I know you from what General Corini has explained to me. But, may I ask who are your men here?"  
  
Cima gave a small smirk as she gestured for Alex to step forward. "This is Captain Alexander Krauser. He's currently my mobile suit commander. I hope that he may continue to fulfill that role on my new ship."  
  
Hughes nodded in agreement. Cima looked up at Alex and said, "Alex, go ahead and introduce your squad to the Major General."  
  
Alex gave a quick salute before speaking.  
  
"Formerly Zeon 312th Mobile Suit Division, we now go by the name Marinae Knights. I am squad commander. This is 1st Lt. Rick Palmer, my executive officer." Alex pointed a thumb over at Rick, a medium-height Caucasian man with broad shoulders and short black hair, who gave a nice, clean salute.  
  
"Next is 2nd Lt. Jessica Lang, our weapons specialist and a master at sniping with any ranged weaponry."  
  
Jessica had a sleek, lithe body, with a busty chest and short wild violet hair. Her green eyes shone as she gave a little smirk. What Alex didn't mention was Jessica had a slight battle lust problem. She tended to be quicker on the trigger before ascertaining what exactly were her targets. Luckily, she was able to control it enough to prevent firing on comrades. Civilian and non-military targets, though…  
  
"Third is 2nd Lt. Julius Von Gunter, our hacker, so to speak. An expert with anything related to electronics."  
  
Julius was the youngest of the group. With red eyes and his short hair dyed white, he was only nineteen. He had a lazy look on his face, and at the same time seemed to be running ideas and thoughts through his head constantly. Alex turned to the last member of the Knights. "This is 2nd Lt. Maxwell Enders. He's our newest addition. He has experience with high mobility MS."  
  
Hughes gave a nod as Alex stepped back. He steepled his hands on the table in front of him, giving each Marine a look over. "Seems you have quite an impressive team on your hands, Lt. Colonel. I believe you know what you've been assigned to do, correct?"  
  
"Yes. I've been told before."  
  
"Very well. We've decided that, since you will act as an autonomous corps, that…"  
  
Hughes went on to describe their role and other important details. Cima, though, heard it through a different ear. 'Autonomous. Meaning: "If you screw up, we've got nothing to do with you." Smart.'  
  
"You will be assigned one ship. It's a new ship-of-the-line that hopefully improves drastically on the Pegasus-Refit design. It actually has more in common with the new Alexandria-class warship. I'll show it on the screen."  
  
Reaching over to a small keypad imbedded in the table, Hughes tapped a button with his index finger. From the table's center, a screen slid up out of a small compartment and flicked on. Cima gazed at the ship that appeared on the screen, and liked it on the spot. Not as smooth-lined and aerodynamic as the Lili Marlene, but it was a very utilized design. It bore a resemblance to the Birmingham, but was dark blue and black in color and had a large hangar and twin catapults on the sides of the ship's bow. And it was big. Really big. As big as a Gwazine. Maybe bigger. Cima arched an eyebrow as she looked over the screen at Hughes. "What do you call this monster?"  
  
"It's a Desider-class battle carrier. One part mobile suit carrier, one part flagship, and nine parts super dreadnought."  
  
He chuckled for a brief moment before he continued speaking.  
  
"Actually, it's not really built for heavy battle. It has a small amount of weapons, only about the same guns you'd find on a Salamis. Its role is to serve as a mobile weapons' platform, almost a mobile base. It can transport a maximum of twenty MS. Since you will be acting on your own, it's necessary that you have a way to sustain yourself as an autonomous corps."  
  
Tapping the button again, causing the screen to change to a world map, Hughes went on to describe the mission.  
  
"We're having numerous uprisings all over the world and in the colonies spurred on by the Delaz Incident. Pockets of old Zeon resistance groups are crawling out of their holes and striking Federal forces with growing voracity. We've pinpointed one cluster of Zeon… here."  
  
The map zoomed in on a location in the Middle East, north of Kazakhstan.  
  
"We're not sure on the exact location. We've deducted that these Zeon are remnant forces from Odessa when Zeon had it occupied during the One Year War. Odessa has suffered several attacks and raids. I want you to go in and smash those Zeon rebels into stardust."  
  
Cima shrugged her shoulders once, and, with a gleam in her eyes, gave a predatory smile as she responded, "Simple enough. So, where's my ship? And I do believe I need more mobile suits than just a few MS-14F."  
  
"You've been assigned four GM Quells, four of the new Hizack MS, three GM Cannon IIs, and two Core Strikers, something of an improved Core EZ. That should be more than adequate for any mission you take on."  
  
"Nice."  
  
"Lieutenant Heathrow, please show Lt. Colonel Garahau and her soldiers to her ship."  
  
"Yes, General."  
  
Claire saluted and left through the door, with Cima and her Marines in tow. Once they had left, Hughes pressed a button on the keypad, and the screen shut off and slid back down. The other man, who had observed silently, spoke as Hughes pulled out a cigar and lighter.  
  
"Spacenoid bitch. You could tell she was calculating all sorts of shit in her head."  
  
"Lt. Colonel Danningan, you need more faith in Spacenoids. Just because part of a group or race does one thing, doesn't mean they all do."  
  
"That may be true in some cases, but these are Spacenoids I'm talking about. They think the same, do the same, and speak the same. They're like sheep, sheep with razor claws and two-inch fangs."  
  
"…"  
  
Hughes bit the end off the cigar and spat it out before placing the other end in his mouth. Raising the lighter, he flicked it on until the end of the cigar turned red. Jamaican Danningan looked over at his superior and asked, "What kind of cigars are those?"  
  
"Cuban. Rodney loved these."  
  
"Rodney?"  
  
"Lt. General Rodney Canningun. He was my cousin."  
  
"The man who sacrificed himself and his ship to save the fleet at Loum?"  
  
"The same."  
  
There was silence, except for Hughes periodically taking the cigar out of his mouth and blowing out some smoke. Jamaican looked at him again, which caused Hughes to pull a second cigar out and hold it out to him.  
  
"Want one?"  
  
"…Sure."  
  
---  
  
At another of the box-like docks, Claire and her entourage arrived on foot. Passing through the gate, they enter the dock to come face-to-hull with the massive Desider battle carrier. Claire turned to Cima, placing her hands behind her back, and leaning to the side slightly, smiling as she asked, "So! Now that you're captain of the ship, Lt. Colonel Garahau, what will you christen it as?"  
  
"Christen…?"  
  
Cima looked up at the Desider-class. Suddenly, she gave a little grin. She turned and asked, "Rick, you wouldn't happen to have a bottle or something on hand, would you?"  
  
Rick grew slightly flustered as he reached into one of his pockets and withdrew a small cheap-looking glass flask half-full of alcohol and handed it over to Cima. She nodded to him as she took it from his grasp. "Thanks."  
  
Turning, she raised the flask over her head, and then chucked it at the ship's bow. As it shattered against the titanium hull, she turned and announced with a big smile on her face,  
  
"I christen this ship, LILI MARLENE!"  
  
End Chapter 5 


End file.
